


what the heart needs

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: a collection of moments [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Post-Episode: s02e05 Ma'ema'e (Clean), Spoilers for s02e05 - Ma'ema'e (Clean)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 19:31:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17710235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Post s02e05. Steve McGarrett shows up on Kono Kalakaua's doorstep a few days after the shootout at the bank. To say she's surprised by his sudden appearance would be nothing more than a blatant lie.





	what the heart needs

**Author's Note:**

> "A friend is what the heart needs all the time." - Henry van Dyke

“Josiah, I know it wasn’t a smart decision,” Officer Kono Kalakaua sighed that night, rolling her eyes as her brother went into yet another tirade about why it was never a good idea to go undercover without backup. She really was trying to listen, but she’d already heard the same lecture from three of the other men in her life. It really wasn’t necessary to hear a regurgitation of it from each of her four brothers, as well.

“You’re damn right. It was just about the stupidest decision you could make.” Special Agent Josiah Kalakaua sighed and softened his tone, suddenly coming to the realization that he was speaking to his little sister, not some lower-ranking agent who’d made a bad call and nearly gotten them all blown to smithereens. “Look, I knew Fryer when I was with HPD, Kono. The guy’s always been bad news, and you were wrong to trust him. You should’ve come to us. Me. Chin. Anybody. We would’ve helped you.”

“Josiah, when you found out I was being accused of taking money from the department, you couldn’t even _look_ at me, much less help me,” Kono reminded him. “And it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. This was the only way to get my badge back and keep the people I care about safe. I’d do it a thousand times over with no regrets.”

“Yeah,” Josiah muttered unenthusiastically, clearly not approving of her reasoning. “Kono, you’re going to have to start looking out for yourself instead of everyone else one of these days. There’s about seven billion people on this rock right now. You can’t go through life carrying the weight of all of them on your shoulders.”

“You’re starting to sound like Dad. Or Sam.” Kono glanced away from the boiling pasta she’d been trying not to completely ruin when the doorbell sounded. “I gotta go. Someone’s at the front door.”

“Fine. But just so you know, _kaikuahine_ , your comparisons are very hurtful.” Josiah ended the call, and Kono attempted to dash to the door as quickly as one could in bare feet on hardwood flooring.

She wasn’t all that surprised to see Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett standing on the other side. After all, they worked together again, and Steve had made no secret of the fact that he felt guilty for all that had happened to her when he wasn’t paying attention. Kono was pretty sure he was still blaming himself a whole hell of a lot more than she’d ever blamed him, that was for sure. She curiously contemplated whether she should enlist Josiah to give his _weight of the world_ speech to her boss, as well. God knew he needed it way more than she did.

She didn’t voice any of that, however. Instead, she simply greeted him with a polite smile and a murmured, “Hey, boss.”

“Hey,” Steve parroted, burying his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. “Can I, uh…” He nodded vaguely toward the living room, obviously looking for an invitation without outright asking.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Kono mumbled, stepping aside with an embarrassed flush to her cheeks and allowing him to walk into her home. “Sorry for the mess. I’m in the process of remodeling,” she explained as she closed the door behind them both and turned to lean against it.

“Okay,” Steve returned simply, not even seeming to take note of the disaster of a room he stood in. Kono idly wondered if his SEAL Spidey Senses were tingling as he stood there, completely surrounded by clutter.

Kono glanced down at her hands for a moment, unsure of what to say. There had been a time when conversation flowed between them naturally. It hadn’t been until after the Fryer disaster that their easy comradery had come to a screeching halt. Kono could honestly say she missed it, especially in moments like these.

Fortunately for her, Steve was the one who finally got his act together and spoke up. “I’m sorry. I know it’s – it’s late, and you were probably busy, doing…” He gestured to the paint cans next to the door and raised a curious brow. “…whatever this is, but I just wanted to swing by, check on you. Chin was telling me your doctors are pretty sure you’ll be able to return to active duty by the beginning of next week.”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed, walking into the kitchen and largely ignoring the fact that he seemed to instinctively trail behind her. None of the guys had been the best at letting her out of their sight since it all went down; it wasn’t as if this were some new development. Sure, he didn’t watch as she came or went in the same way that Danny and Chin did, but that wasn’t really something that needed to be addressed at this juncture, now was it?

“You planning on coming back to Five-0 when the paperwork comes through?” he asked nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Startled, she glanced away from the sauce she was attempting to save from itself. “Yeah, of course. Unless this is your way of telling me I’m out a job, in which case I will tell you that a greeting card would’ve worked just as well.”

“No,” Steve promised sincerely, his eyes serious as they met hers. “As long as I’m in charge of Five-0, Kono, you’ll always have a place there, all right? I swear. I just…” He shrugged, lifting one hand to rub nervously down the back of his neck. After a few seconds, it fell back to his side. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want to come back, that’s all. A lot’s happened in the past few weeks, and I could understand if you didn’t, uh, didn’t trust us anymore. Me, specifically.”

“Steve,” Kono sighed, turning off the burner beneath the sauce and then spinning to face him. “I will always trust you, all right? That doesn’t even factor into things. I mean, sure, I was pissed at the way things with Fryer were handled, but that’s not on you.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured in response. “It is. Because I’m the reason everyone doubted you back there, Kono. I never should’ve accused you of being dirty. The thought shouldn’t have ever even crossed my mind, because I know you. I know who you are. But it did, and I can’t take back how I behaved when that happened. So, you know, if you really didn’t want to come back to Five-0, I would understand.”

“Thank you,” Kono replied, her voice just above a whisper as she flashed him an amused smile. “But that’s something you’re never going to have to worry about. Now that I’m back, you’re not going to be able to get rid of me ever again, no matter how hard you try.”

“Well, believe me, Kono, that’s not something I’m going to try hard at,” Steve replied honestly. “Ever.”

Kono practically beamed up at him for that comment. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Now, not to change the subject up on you, but I do think this sauce needs to be saved from my lack of cooking prowess, and you’re the only other person here, so…”

Steve chuckled at that and then exhaled an amused sigh before humorously ordering, “Give it here before you make it worse.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Kono muttered, handing the saucepot over all the same. “See, this right here? This is why my mother will never get to see her lifelong dream of me turning into a doting wife and mother come to life. I can’t even make spaghetti sauce, for God’s sake.”

“Well, there’s a science to it,” Steve tried to assure her.

“There is?” she asked skeptically.

“No,” Steve admitted with an amused smile. “There really isn’t. It’s pretty straightforward, actually. I don’t know how – Kono, this is burned,” he informed her after a moment, his eyes widening when he saw the blackened sauce sticking to the bottom. “How did you manage to…”

“I left it on when I came to answer the door,” Kono explained sheepishly. “Judging by the look on your face right now, that was the wrong call to make.”

“Yeah,” Steve exhaled laughingly, placing the saucepot back on the stove and stepping away as if it might explode at any given moment. In all fairness, given the way it’d looked when she’d last taken a peek at it, that was entirely possible. “You should never leave sauces on the stove. They, uh, they get congealed in the pot, and then you’ve got, well…” He gestured to her failure of a dinner as if to make a point. “I’ve got to ask, though, why were you trying to cook anyway? I thought you swore off the kitchen after you burnt your finger on that cookie sheet a few months back.”

“Hey, those cookies betrayed me. And I cannot believe you still remember that.”

“I’m a Navy SEAL,” Steve reminded her with a half-shrug. “We remember everything.”

“Well, that isn’t terrifying at all,” Kono muttered, rifling through a nearby drawer full of takeout menus and grabbing the first one that appealed to her. “Well, now that I’ve almost set my house on fire and given you a good laugh…”

“I’m sorry,” Steve offered amusedly. “I promise not to laugh at you if it happens again, all right?”

“…I’m going to give up on this domestic crap and just order in pizza,” Kono continued on as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “And, just for the record, this is never happening again. That would be a humiliating call to make to HFD.”

“Yes,” Steve agreed without hesitation. “Yes, it would.”

“Yeah.” Kono sighed as she reached into her shorts pocket for her phone, then glanced over at him before dialing the number. “You good with ham and pineapple?” she asked after a moment, enjoying the way his eyes widened slightly at her unsubtle invitation.

“Yeah,” he assured her, clearing his throat. “I’m great with ham and pineapple.”

“All right, then.” She finished dialing the number, pressed the phone to her ear, and placed the order. “It’s going to be about half an hour,” she reported after a few minutes of conversation. “You know, there’s, uh, a _Starsky & Hutch _marathon on right now, if you’re interested.”

“So let me get this straight,” Steve began, shooting her an incredulous look as he followed her to the sofa and settled in the cushions next to her. “You know _Starsky & Hutch, _yet you never, not once, tuned into a single episode of _CHiPs_?”

“That is correct.” Kono flipped through the channels until she’d arrived at the one she was looking for.

Steve shook his head fondly. “You’re weird, Kalakaua. You know that?”

“I do. Now shh. This is a good episode.” She remained focused on the television screen in front of them, electing to ignore the way he stayed staring at her for a half dozen seconds before finally glancing away.

“So weird,” he murmured again, laughing quietly when her smile simply widened and then joining her in staring at the television as the opening credits began to roll.

There, in that single moment, was where it all _really_ began.

**Author's Note:**

> Will I ever stop going back seven seasons to watch episodes with Kono in them? No. The answer is no. I hope you enjoyed. I wrote this in my free time today and decided to post it this evening instead of waiting until I've written more of the series due to the lack of an episode this week. Just know that this storyline will carry on into other works in the future.


End file.
